Spurs starlets get their chance to shine: Redknapp to use the UEFA Cup as a proving ground for the next generation at White Hart Lane

The new generation at White Hart Lane will again get their chance in the UEFA Cup tonight, with Harry Redknapp adamant that the competition remains an unwelcome distraction.

In the last 10 years, captain Ledley King is the only home-grown player to have progressed through the youth system at Tottenham to become a key member of the first-team squad. Another, Jamie O'Hara, has shown plenty of promise but has yet to nail down a starting place.

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Yet Redknapp has named five of youth team coach Alex Inglethorpe's Under-18s in his squad to face NEC Nijmegen in the UEFA Cup group match in Holland.

John Bostock, the 16-year-old midfielder signed from Crystal Palace, made his first-team debut in the 4-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb earlier this month. In doing so, he became the youngest player to play for Spurs in a competitive fixture, and he is the best known of the quintet.

But defender Adam Smith, midfielders Yaser Kasim and Ryan Mason and striker Jonathan Obika have also travelled, illustrating Redknapp's desire to have a good look at the club's future.

While manager of West Ham, from 1994 until 2001, Redknapp helped nurture Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, all of whom have become regular England internationals.

Although few are suggesting that the five players brought to Holland will go on to represent their countries at senior level, it is clear that Redknapp is determined to give youth its chance.

Redknapp said: 'These players have to deserve being brought away on trips. They have to be good enough to play, as playing people for the sake of it is a waste of time.

'They have trained with us, and we will continue to have a good look at them. A lot of these players are new to me, and I want to find out more about them.

'I have not really got to know the kids, but I have heard that some of them have done well, and they deserve the chance to come away.

Chance: John Bostock

'It has been a long time since one of the kids has truly broken through at Spurs. It is not easy, and a lot of clubs find themselves in the same position. Finding kids who come through the youth team to reach the first team is getting more and more difficult.'

Spurs have won six of their eight matches since Redknapp took charge on 26 October, but they are still only two points above the relegation zone in the Premier League, and the 61-year-old made no secret of where his priorities lie.

He continued: 'We are here to try to win the game and we want to stay in the competition, but we have to be honest and say that the league is more important.'

A win tonight will virtually guarantee Spurs' place in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, although it will have to be achieved without several of the club's key players.

Luka Modric (groin) and King (knee) are joined on the sidelines by Alan Hutton, who learned last night that he would need surgery on a foot injury that is likely to keep him out of action for at least five months.

Both defender Vedran Corluka and striker Roman Pavlyuchenko are both cup-tied, meaning Michael Dawson, Chris Gunter and Fraizer Campbell should all be included in the starting XI.

Redknapp has insisted that he wants to keep Campbell for the rest of the season, refuting claims from Manchester

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson that he "had the option" to bring Campbell, 21, back to Old Trafford in January.

Options: Fraizer Campbell

The Spurs boss said: 'Fraizer is on a season-long loan deal. I have spoken to the chairman Daniel Levy, and he said that we have the options in our favour. If we want to keep him [for the rest of the season], we will keep him.'

Redknapp also hit back at remarks from NEC coach Mario Been that Spurs were "predictable" and they played "long-ball" football. Been has warned his side to expect a physical test from Spurs, and said: 'They play a kind of football that is predictable. They play a long ball first, and the game will start from there.'

But Redknapp said : 'I do not think we are a long-ball team. When Luka Modric is fit, he plays, and we pass through midfield. We have players like David Bentley and Tom Huddlestone who are good footballers. I wouldn't know what a longball team was.'